Chinese businessman Cao Yanglin let his lunch of slow-cooked beef rib with truffle puree and lemon cream sauce go cold as he talked about his gambling spree the night before at the baccarat tables in Macau -- the world's new epicenter for gambling.

SARS can still be contained and eliminated, the head of the World Health Organization predicted Tuesday after China's premier described Beijing's crisis as grave and warned officials to work hard to fight the disease or be punished.

China announced Sunday that Beijing elementary and middle schools will remain closed for two more weeks to help prevent the spread of SARS, affecting over a million students, as Taipei's mayor warned that violators of home quarantine would be punished.